Oh forgot I use mama pads but just switched last winter.I'M not sure that i'm happy with the gladrag brand i bought though-they tend to leak if i.m heavy a particular month!Any suggestions mamas-you can pm me.Need to know of other brands or WHAM made ones i dont want to go back to other sposie kind because my skin is so much happier in mama cloth!

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__________________Charlotte~wife to Bill and mama to Jim(19),Sarah(8) and Megan Grace(born to heaven on 6/5/07) and tiny tummy babies never forgotten

I'm getting crunchier. I wasn't so much with my first. I lean more and more toward it because of all of the chemicals and things we are exposed to...whether it be a diaper, food or vax. So trying hard this time around. I'm for non-circ, delayed/skipped vax, no CIO, bf, bw, organic eating, recycling and cding.
I'm a little lax on the conserving part. I still drive a lot, eat some processed foods, no co-sleep and the occasional (green) sposie. I also indulge in some not so natural cosmetics and skin products!

I listen to what my kiddos need. We don't CIO....they have always had their needs met before they cried so they have learned that and don't cry for what they wants/need. They know mama's always there for them. Although my oldest has learned a/b whining and crying for "wants" from school. Grrrrr

We CDed Maddy when she was 4-6 months...but I couldn't find what worked for us and constantly had BAD rashes and leaky dipes. I started back CDing a few months ago and the mamas here helped me figure out what went wrong. We have been full timing it since. Wished I had only kept at it before. Man we love our wool and PFs!!!!

We fully vax...no ifs ands or buts a/b it.

We organic some...not much though. I find organic stuff is way to over priced and probably isn't that "organic" anyway. We grow some of our veggies and we hunt deer...so that's the gist of our organic.

I made my own baby food b/c I am to cheap to buy it. My babies had teeth from 3 months..but I waited until they were obviously ready. My first I rushed it a bit, but Maddy was 6 months.

I BFed as long as they would let me. My first attempt would have been better if I had some guidance and support. I BFed 4 months with her. I BFed Maddy for almost a year. She selfweaned...might had been a strike, but we took the cue to wean b/c she was a biter. The next I hope to go as long as he/she wants....As long as we don't pull up to the college dorms and need to find a private place to get ninny.

Emily HATED co-sleeping even from the time she was itty bitty. She went to her crib at one month old and we all slept great. My hubby works night shift so I had the bed to myself. I BFed Maddy so I had her in my room for night feedings. She would start off in the pack-n-play and then end up in my bed for nursing. She had no problem sleeping in either place. When she turned a year she was weaned...so she started going to the crib to sleep...she loved it and now refuses to sleep anywhere but her crib. Which is a problem sometimes.

We don't have any natural cleaners b/c I haven't found any that do the job.

We would circ if we had a boy. My DH is adamant a/b it and arguments turned into almost knock down drag outs. We will cross that bridge when we get there though.

I wore Emily some...but she didn't really like it. All I knew a/b at that time was snuggli's. I had a RS for Maddy and we liked it ok, but got a sore shoulder after awhile. I made a simple wrap and LOVE it. She likes to be held and cuddled so she loves being wore. With the wrap I barely know I am wearing her.

My oldest DD has the occasional swat on her rear b/c she is VERY hard headed like her daddy...well...me too for that fact...Poor girl! Mostly we use gentle discipline though. I am blessed with great kids that listen well, and are respectful. They know not to cross the line and not b/c of the swat on the behind, but b/c they know how much it disappoints mommy and daddy. Even Maddy my LO is learning.

Some may frown at the way my DH and I raise our girls...but this is what works for us. So many people have commented on how well behaved and well mannered our girls are. They have gotten EVERYTHING they ever needed and more. I don't claim to be soggy nor crunchy or anywhere in between. My DH and I parent the way that feels right.

My MAJOR loss of crunch points is that I no longer cloth diaper. I feel kind of like a hypocrite being a member of DiaperSwappers.. but I really just CAN'T anymore. The nearest laundromat in my latest apartment is forever away and I don't have transportation of my own, it won't save me money if I go to a laundromat, etc... so I use sposies.

I don't co-sleep... I did, but when Jed was 4.5 months old, neither he nor I could get a good night's sleep when co-sleeping. He'd wake up every 1/2 hour or every hour to nurse, and we'd both wake up tired & cranky. He won't even let me sleep in the same room!

I had a hospital birth and loved it -- I guess I am one of the only mamas in existence who had a charmed hospital experience. Staff was very nice, not super pushy about anything, I had a wonderfully easy labor, no episiotomy, wonderful LCs working 24/7, and frankly, I loved my epidural. I do feel that society does kind of make women feel like they CAN'T handle the pain of childbirth, and I know I *can*, and it makes me feel like a wimp that I don't want to --but I just don't want to! I almost feel ashamed to admit this, but I'd probably go for the epidural again, as much as I want a homebirth in the water... I LIKE the epidural!

I do breastfeed, baby-wear, and feed my child mostly organic food made by me (bbq tempeh w/sauteed mushrooms is a staple here!). I'd still be co-sleeping if I could. I have not had any vaccinations for my son since his 2-month appointment and probably will not have him vaccinated for anything for at least another year (he is 12 months old now), if ever. I did not circumcise my son and there is no way in h*ll I would EVER circumcise a child. I didn't feed Jed any solids until he was 7 mos old, and he didn't start really eating until he was 9 mos old. I can't let my son CIO even if I wanted to... hearing him cry just makes my heart pound and ache. I am all about gentle disciplining as well, though he's really too young for ANY discipline at this point... I even got my boyfriend to stop smacking his 18-month-old daughter's hands when she touched something off-limits, showing him research that indicated it could hinder her motor development.

OK it is late and I haven't read all posts. So here is my semi-crunchy story! I don't know that I would call myself crunchy, I just have had a life long habit of questioning 'the system'. (If everyone is doing it then I have a habit of finding another way or being different) I just don't like doing things because thats 'the way it is done'! So it started with no TV, homeschooling, super breastfeeder, then homebirth, progressed to no-vaxing, and soft shoes, then to cloth diapers, now raw food, but absolultely NO soy and now almond milk. I guess I am not into labels either, so I would never call myself crunchy anyway, even if I was! With my first I relied a lot on BabyWhisperer techniques and at the time I loved it, now I regret it. I have a tendency to try and perfect and I feel like I missed out a lot with my oldest son and sorta had a wedge between us because I wanted him to be the perfect baby/child. So I abandoned that with DS3. DS3 did co-sleep because he has his daddy wrapped around his finger! But I wouldn't call it co-sleeping, he feel asleep in our bed and we just didn't move him. At 20mos he is in the 'big boy' room in his own toddler bed. As for babywearing. I have some carriers and I like to carry because it frees up a seat in the stroller for my toddlers, then I can strap them down! So with my last baby I was much more laid back and with this one I am sure I will be even more laid back! I finally feel free to be the momma I need to be and not be labeled and perfect one parenting style or another. And free to do what works best for each child as an individual. It is funny because my neighbor commented on my CDs and how I was doing something good for the environment. I am not a tree hugger! I CD because I don't want those icky chemicals next to my babies skin or worse soaking into their skin. I mainly look at things from a personal health perspective. Yeah it does concern me that WA state burns their trash, including baby diapers full of chemicals and human waste! Whats that doing to our ozone? But truly that doesn't make or break my diapers. DS is in a sposie as I type this while he is healing from a blister on his foreskin. So I think I rambled...
Basically I am not into labels. I just do what works for my family and as I learn more I am free to change my mind because I am not 'labeled'!

I'd call myself semi-crunchy. But it's all in comparison. I have been CDing since DS came home from the hospital (with the occasional sposie), he is intact (DH's choice), we vax on schedule, EBF for 6 months, continued until DS self-weaned at 13 months, eat mostly organic, baby wear on occasion (tried it when he was younger and it was the wrong style & I got frustrated and gave up)... Tried co-sleeping and it wasn't for us, tried CIO and that wasn't for us either. DS doesn't watch TV, and won't until he's at least 3. I don't know if that's crunchy or not, but it's another of our parenting choices that make some people raise an eyebrow.

I'm also probably semi-crunchy.
I wanted a natural birth, but had an emergeny c-section due to breech position entering birth canal. I wanted to BF, but ended up bottle feeding due to difficulty for my DS to latch and get enough in him -next time I hope! We are CD'ing, eat organic when we can afford it, vaccinating, CIO to a degree, bw'ing part-time, and co-slept for the first three months. We do enjoy eating out, but are looking for better options - and they are growing, yeh! I desperately want to move to the country and grow my own veggies, etc., but that is waiting on $$. Currently, i am SAHM, but may be returning to work PT - I haven't decided yet!